A full CVC and CVCaaS framework proposal — fund structures, investment process, service components, and portfolio support. Designed for Halyk to capture strategic positioning and financial returns across the Central Asian startup ecosystem.
The largest public companies — 40% of the top 30 by market capitalization — have already moved. CVC is no longer a frontier experiment. It is the default way serious corporations convert capital into strategic positioning, market intelligence, and optionality on future business models.
For Halyk, the logic compounds further. Each dollar invested delivers a financial return, innovation imported into the bank through pilots and partnerships, and equity-aligned commercial value for the startups powering the SuperApp and AI CoE.
"40% of the 30 largest companies by market capitalization are engaged in CVC activities."— BCG
Tap into new markets, technologies, and business sectors before they become mainstream — gaining first-mover optionality.
Develop new partnerships and joint ventures through equity relationships rather than arm's-length procurement.
Maintain a firm footing in the face of competing technologies — own a position in what might disrupt you.
Establish ecosystems built on existing products and distribution — turning platforms into gravitational wells.
Generate financial returns that reinforce the innovation budget over time — making the program self-funding.
Develop less cost-intensive, more flexible alternatives to in-house research and development — with external talent doing the work.
Plug and Play operates three CVCaaS structures, each optimized for a different balance of strategic versus financial priorities. Halyk self-selects based on its appetite for equity participation, management overhead, and VC-compatible return expectations. All three structures are compatible with Halyk acting as cornerstone LP of an affiliated fund anchored in Astana.
Preferred when the CVC mandate includes VC-compatible financial returns alongside strategic objectives.
The market-standard structure for sophisticated CVCs. Halyk, as the parent firm, makes capital contributions to a dedicated fund managed by Plug and Play as a service. The fund invests in portfolio companies that deliver both strategic value to Halyk and financial returns to the fund's LPs.
Plug and Play earns a 2% management fee on capital deployed and 20% carried interest on profits above a hurdle — the standard venture economic structure. This alignment ensures Plug and Play is financially incentivized to generate returns, not just activity.
Economics: 2% management fee · 20% carried interest · Value-added through portfolio support · Contribution to strategic objectives
Preferred when the CVC focuses mostly on strategic investments and returns are secondary.
Designed for Halyk if the fund mandate is predominantly strategic — investments that need not clear a VC-compatible return bar. Halyk pays management fees to Plug and Play for operating the fund, and Plug and Play does not take carry. Capital distributions flow directly back to Halyk.
Plug and Play may still participate through ad-hoc co-investments alongside the Halyk fund when strategic fit is strong. This structure keeps the fund's investment thesis tightly aligned with Halyk's strategic agenda — useful for deep regional bets, GovTech, or early-stage strategic partnerships that wouldn't pass a commercial VC filter.
Economics: TBD management fee · 0% carried interest · PnP ad-hoc co-investments · Contribution to strategic objectives
Preferred when the fund size is small or Halyk wants to pay per investment activity rather than by AUM.
The most flexible structure for early-stage or smaller fund programs. Rather than a percentage-of-AUM management fee, Halyk pays a partnership fee plus per-activity fees — due diligence, scouting process, deal evaluation — giving Plug and Play direct compensation for work performed.
This structure is well suited for Halyk in a pilot phase: activate the fund framework with minimal commitment, prove the thesis on a handful of investments, and graduate to Structure 1 or 2 once deployment velocity is established. Plug and Play still co-invests ad-hoc for high-conviction deals.
Economics: Partnership fees + per-DD fees · 0% carried interest · PnP ad-hoc co-investments · Ideal for pilot-stage fund programs
Regardless of which fund structure Halyk selects, every investment follows the same eight-stage discipline — combining Plug and Play's global deal flow with Halyk's internal governance and strategic priorities.
Halyk defines the thesis and tech focus areas, or requests support from Plug and Play to scope them.
Plug and Play sources and shortlists startups directly relevant to the investment thesis.
PnP prepares one-pagers on each opportunity. Halyk votes on the shortlisted startups.
Plug and Play conducts business-side due diligence on selected startups, preparing analysis for committee.
PnP presents analyses to Halyk's Investment Committee for formal evaluation and discussion.
PnP organizes calls between Halyk and selected startups to negotiate commercial terms.
Halyk signs off on the Investment Committee approvals in order to proceed to deployment.
Startup introduced to Halyk's legal team for fundraising doc review. Capital deployed.
Investment process subject to internal governance from Halyk. Plug and Play adapts process to Halyk's committee cadence and approval structures.
The hardest thing to replicate in venture is the sourcing network — the relationships with top VCs, universities, research labs, and founder communities that generate the best deal flow. CVCaaS gives Halyk instant access to Plug and Play's global sourcing machine.
Sources include Tier 1 VCs (Lightspeed, Greylock, Balderton, Idinvest), top universities (Stanford, HEC Paris, UC Berkeley, Polytechnique), research centers (Inria, CNRS, ITRI), major innovation events (Viva Technology, Web Summit, Slush, Hello Tomorrow), and inbound applications through the Join the Platform system.
The CVCaaS mandate for Halyk includes eight distinct service components. Each is available under all three fund structures — the balance of activity across them is calibrated to Halyk's priorities.
Global, continuous scouting filtered by Halyk's thesis. Access to 15,000+ startups sourced annually with 5% quality filter into the Playbook database.
Halyk gains visibility across the PnP global network — 550+ corporate partners, 60+ offices. Inbound deal flow and startup referrals flow back to the Halyk fund.
Trend reports, market intelligence, technology landscape analysis, VC flow data, and industry benchmarks tailored to Halyk's focus sectors.
Full access to Playbook — Plug and Play's proprietary innovation software. Centralized tracking, voting, trend monitoring, and engagement history.
Co-investment access to Plug and Play's own portfolio, LP positions in PnP industry funds, and priority allocations in competitive rounds where PnP leads or participates.
Full business-side DD on shortlisted startups: market sizing, competitive analysis, team review, traction validation, and financial modeling.
Strategic advisory on thesis definition, fund structure refinement, investment committee support, and portfolio construction guidance.
Each portfolio company receives structured portfolio support from Plug and Play — exposure, introductions, workspace access, and go-to-market help.
The value Halyk offers to its portfolio is not just capital. Through CVCaaS, every investment receives eight categories of structured support — the reason top founders accept CVC money instead of pure financial capital.
Direct introductions to Halyk business units as potential customers — the #1 value a CVC provides to an early-stage startup.
Halyk's regional footprint and Plug and Play's 60+ offices open Central Asian, European, and global markets for portfolio companies.
Cross-industry introductions to PnP's 550+ corporate partner network — banks, insurers, retailers, governments, telcos, and beyond.
Beyond the initial check: follow-on rounds, bridge financing, and co-investment alongside Tier 1 VCs when portfolio companies raise again.
Stage placement at Plug and Play EXPOs and Halyk summits — investor and partnership visibility that early-stage startups can't otherwise access.
Integration into the broader Plug and Play founder community — peer mentorship, founder dinners, alumni network, cross-cohort collaboration.
Direct access to PnP trend reports, Halyk business unit insights, and research produced by the AI CoE — strategic intelligence for portfolio companies.
Access to co-working and office space in 60+ Plug and Play locations worldwide — a meaningful benefit for founders building international businesses.
Plug and Play has run this exact framework before — with CaixaBank, Global Payments, and Ingenico as founding partners in a fintech innovation fund. The structure, process, and outcomes preview what a Halyk fund can look like.
CaixaBank (17M+ customers), Global Payments (2.5M+ merchants), and Ingenico (32M+ terminals) partnered with Plug and Play to create an international innovation program — identifying technology initiatives, supporting startup growth, and investing €100K–€250K equity tickets into promising fintech and retail-tech companies. IESE and Visa joined as collaboration partners.
Zone2boost is not a theoretical template — it is a live, operating fund that Plug and Play manages today. Halyk's fund would follow the same operational playbook, adapted to Central Asian priorities and scaled to Halyk's ambition.
Before commercial terms are finalized, Halyk's leadership aligns on three dimensions. Plug and Play facilitates this scoping process through a focused workshop series.
Sets the target return profile, the level of BU engagement expected, and the flexibility of the investment thesis. 49% of CVCs globally choose Hybrid.
Determines whether the fund is a registered CVC vehicle or operates from existing or new P&L, and how capital is committed over time.
Defines the filter Plug and Play's sourcing team applies to the 15,000+ startups reviewed annually — turning the funnel into a Halyk-specific pipeline.
Indicate which fund structure resonates with Halyk's mandate, and we'll return with a detailed operational proposal, commercial terms, and a six-month pilot roadmap.